Light the Fire and Kick the Tires
by Blackbetsirose
Summary: At the end of Journey's End, Donna regenerates.
1. Light the Fire

I don't own Ten, Ten II, Donna, or Doctor Who. The BBC does. This is also my thoughts on what regenerating would be like. And yes...the "Gallifreyan words" at the end are made up.

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It begins shortly after Rose is sent to serve her exile in the parallel universe. It's a niggling pain in the back of her head that increases slowly at first, while she, the Doctor, and the Duplicate Doctor are piloting the TARDIS back to their universe, and closing the gaps. The pain begins to lance it's way across her forehead by the time she's talking about Feldspoon, mountains that move, and Charlie Chaplin. She notices the repetition of her words, and seeing the Doctors' faces, she knows they notice as well. Flashes of the Doctor's mind go through possible solutions, because she knows if nothing's done she's going to die.

The pain passes migraine strength and she starts to see things through a gold blur. She remembers Gramps talking of cataracts and how his sight diminished with those before he got corrective surgery, and she reckons it might have been like this. Without the gold tint though. She can hear the Doctors arguing over what should be done and she hears the panic in the Time Lord Doctor's voice. She swears she hears him say he loves her. Not best mate kind of love, but romantic love. If she could see straight, and was capable of coherent speech, she'd scoff at that. She must have been hearing things. Yes. That's it. She was hearing things. There's a dull roar that's been steadily getting louder. That's why she heard wrong. He didn't, _couldn't_ love her that way.

The Doctors' voices get dimmer as the roar gets louder. She's pretty sure she's dying now, because images of her life are passing before her and they say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Oddly some of these images are of a place with red grass, an orange sky, trees with silver leaves, and an enormous glass like globe with buildings inside. Somewhere something tells her those aren't her memories. "If it was in his head, it's in yours," this inner voice says. She finds among his memories, and thoughts that he _does_ love her that way. And she finds she loves him too. But it's too late.

More images of her own life pass, and the roar gets even louder as the pain seems to hit a crushing crescendo filled with a heat she knows is internal though she can't make sense of why. Very very dimly, she registers her body is on the grating of the console room, and she must stand up. She must. It's imperative that she stand up. The heat grows more and more intense, the excruciating pain that started in her head has now consumed her whole body. And over the roar she hears voices. One is shouting, the other might be crying. She can't tell. " _I love you, Doctor,_ " she thinks. " _Goodbye._ "

Then sight, sound, touch, everything externally sensed is suddenly gone, replaced by an extreme sense of urgency and impending action. She finds her muscles and bones are acting almost of their own accord, and pushing her upright. The feeling of burning is all she knows now. Hotter and hotter until it ignites.

And the fire consumes her.

It's quiet. A velvety darkness is all she's aware of. It's cool too. There's no pain. There is just nothing but darkness, coolness, and thought. There would have to be thought or else how would she be aware of anything. Slowly other senses begin to return. Distant voices growing ever louder (is that Gramps?). Hands (she thinks they're hands anyhow) touching her…arms? Yes. Hands. She can feel the fingers. Arms, yes. She can feel that's what they are. Other parts of her body make themselves known as she attempts movement, not sure if she's successful yet. Legs, feet, hands, fingers, heart beating quite rapidly…wait…not beating rapidly. Two different beats. Two hearts. Wizard.

Memories begin to assert themselves next, after she catalogues all her biological functions. From her childhood, to her recent past to the events leading up to what happened, which her new larger capacity _Time Lady_ brain is telling her was regeneration. The Earth gone missing. The trip to the Shadow Proclamation, Medusa Cascade, finding Earth, Rose's return, the Doctor's half regeneration, the Dalek ship, being locked in the TARDIS, touching the hand, the Duplicate's creation, her becoming the DoctorDonna, Creation being saved. The memories keep coming in faster and faster. She feels her body tensing as the memories become flashes, her eyes snap open, and she sits up.

There are two people in there with her. One is her Gramps (so she _had_ heard him earlier), and the other is the Duplicate Doctor. The Time Lord is nowhere to be found. They rush to support her as her body as the newly regenerated musculature and skeletal system are still slightly out of whack and she's sort of falling sideways off what she now recognizes is her bed in her room on the TARDIS. She holds on to them weakly, giving both a kiss on their cheeks, but what she really wants is the Doctor. The Time Lord Doctor. She wants to tell him she loves him. She wants to hear him say he loves her. She knows she can't feel like she's home until that happens.

And then he's there. She feels her Gramps and the Duplicate Doctor (as soon as everything calms down, she swears the Duplicate is going to get a real name) move aside and the Time Lord fold her in his arms. She feels him press his face into her neck, and she feels his tears. She holds him to her as tightly as her current state allows and they rock together. He leans back, frames her face with his hands and with a gentleness she always knew he possessed, kisses her lips sweetly and chastely. Then she's folded back up in his arms and they're rocking again. She hears him whispering words softly over and over into her hair. Her newfound knowledge tells her it's Gallifreyan. She listens again.

" _Ishnari eiy. Ishnari eiy."_ My beloved _._

She's home.


	2. Kick the Tires

I don't own Ten, Ten II, Donna, or Doctor Who. The BBC does. This fic has some dialogue from Journey's End. I don't own that either.

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He wasn't going to stay. No way, no how. He was not, absolutely _not_ going to be left off here in Pete's World when something was going to happen to Donna. Something was wrong with his sister, he could feel it. There was a tingling in his head. And he was sure as hell not going to stay with this stupid, bloody, blonde bint of a girl who'd nearly torn apart the multiverse to get to the Doctor without any care for anything or anyone else. Getting away from Rose, and being left here wasn't his main issue though, as his head gave another twinge. He watched carefully as the Doctor and his sister entered the TARDIS, and just as his sister started to close the door, he made his move.

"Oof" Donna muttered as he stumbled into her, knocking her aside, as the TARDIS began it's dematerialization sequence. He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling, but didn't say anything.

"What?" the Doctor's voice carried across the console room. "How…what…how?"

"Do keep asking that. It will really help," the Duplicate said, as he followed Donna up the ramp. She winced, and he felt that tingle again. He frowned and went to follow, but the Doctor stopped him.

"You were supposed to stay," the Doctor stood in front of him.

"I wasn't going to. I didn't."

"Obviously. You're here."

Further discussion was halted when Donna asked to go to Feldspoon, and see the mountains that move. She said if it was in his head, it was in hers. She tried to say how to fix the Chameleon Circuit, but got stuck on the word 'binary'. When it happened again talking about Charlie Chaplin, they knew she was in trouble.

"This is why I didn't stay there," the Duplicate looked at the Doctor then Donna. "Something is happening to my sister."

"It's the metacrisis. There's never been a human-Time Lord metacrisis before. She knows and you know why that is."

"Because there can't be," Donna whispered to them, while holding her head.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "I'm so sorry." He reached his hands up to touch her temples.

"Don't make me go back," she pleaded. "Please. I can't go back. Don't make me go back."

The Duplicate knew what the Doctor was going to do, and knew what his sister would want. He leapt forward and pulled the Doctor back. "What are you doing?" the Doctor shouted. "I have to do this to save her! She'll die if I don't!"

"I won't let you!" the Duplicate shouted back, keeping an iron grip. "If something has to happen or be done, let it be this."

"She's dying!"

"She knows. You know she knows. Let her make this choice for herself. If she has to die, let her die as what she became. The DoctorDonna, The Most Important Woman In the Whole of Creation."

"I…I can't," the Doctor struggled to get free. "I can't let her die."

"It's what she wants," the Duplicate said. "She doesn't want her memories taken. She doesn't want to go back to that life, where she missed things. She doesn't want to forget all she's seen and done since coming with you."

"How do you know?" the Doctor scoffed. He lurched forward, but only succeeded in dragging the Duplicate forward.

"Because she's part of me. Just like you're part of me. I know this is what she wants, just as I know that you love her."

They both stopped at the sound of a wail, and saw Donna slump to the grating. The Doctor renewed his efforts to get to her, crying out to her. The Duplicate didn't lessen his hold. "She's in pain!" the Doctor wailed. "Please let me go to her."

"I can't let you take her memories."

"I KNOW!" the Doctor roared. "I know. It's too late for that now anyway," he jerked out the Duplicate's grasp finally and dropped to his knees beside her. Taking her in his arms, he whispered that he loved her in her ear. Running his hands through her hair, he kissed her head, and then looked up at the Duplicate. "I won't let her die here on this grating. The least I can do is hold her. She'll leave this universe feeling loved, and not alone," he rocked her as she let a keening wail go.

The Duplicate watched, and reached down to take one of his sister's hands. The only sounds heard were the Doctor's sobs, and Donna's cries. The Duplicate stopped trying to stop his own tears. But within a minute or so, that teary blur took on a gold tinge. Wiping his eyes, he was startled to see Donna glowing. "Doctor," he said. "Doctor," he repeated more urgently when the Time Lord didn't respond. Finally, he just grabbed the Doctor, and yanked him away from Donna, whose body slumped over but then she…stood up.

"What?!" the Doctor asked. " _What_?!" Donna's glow intensified. " _WHAT_?!" the Doctor shrieked, as he and the Duplicate stumbled backwards.

Donna…appeared to be regenerating.

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Three days had passed since Donna regenerated. Three days since the TARDIS had showed up in the Noble's backyard, and the Duplicate and the Doctor had carried Donna inside the house, and up to her room. Three days since both the Doctor and the Duplicate received matching handprints on their cheeks from Sylvia's hand when she slapped them. After they'd laid Donna down on her bed of course. And three days since Donna had woken up, the Doctor had kissed her and named her his beloved.

Donna had been quite tired in those three days, which was normal for post-regeneration, they repeatedly assured Wilf and Sylvia, and thus she'd stayed in her bed. The Doctor refused to leave her side, staying in the bed with her. Sylvia had made an attempt to protest, but a glare from Donna, and a comment or two from Wilf, and she'd backed down, though not without a bit of grumbling. The Duplicate brought meal trays up to them, and brought the used dishes back down. He had a feeling Donna, the Doctor and Sylvia preferred this, though none said anything.

Sylvia had given him an odd look when he said he was Donna's brother and thus her son, but that look he chalked up to her seeing the look he presumed he had on his own face at the thought of being her son. Having the Doctor's memories and some of Donna's hadn't exactly endeared Sylvia to him. But, he supposed you couldn't choose your family. He thought having Donna for a sister, and Wilf for a grandfather was brilliant, and well worth having Sylvia for a mother.

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He was thinking about all this as he went upstairs to give Donna and the Doctor the lunch tray. He knocked on the door, and opened it when Donna said to come in. She waved her hand at the bedside table where her laptop was. "Take it. Go find yourself a name."

"Geoffrey?"

"Yeah. Dad's name. You don't have to use it. Just thought I'd throw out the suggestion."

The Duplicate shrugged. "Honestly not fond of the name, but maybe as a second name if I find the right first name."

"Could let Mum name you," Donna smirked, then snorted at the look on the Duplicate's face.

"Um…no. I'll find my own, thanks."

"Wonder what she'd come up with though?" the Doctor said, giving the Duplicate a wicked grin. "She seems to like just simple names. Maybe she'd call you Fred or- oof," he looked at Donna who'd just smacked him in the chest. "What was that for?"

"Simple names? You think my name is just a simple name?"

"NO! No. Of course not. I think it's a brilliant name. It means "lady" you know. With your surname you're a Noble Lady. And you are. That. A Noble Lady. A Noble Lady who is beautiful and brilliant, and who I love so, so much," he followed that little speech with a tender kiss, that Donna fully reciprocated.

"Okay…" the Duplicate said when the kiss passed what was normally the time for humans to breathe, but these two had respiratory bypasses. "I'm just going to take this," he picked up the laptop. "And go downstairs now. Carry on. Don't mind me," he rolled his eyes when Donna waved her hand at him, and then slid her hand up the Doctor's t-shirt. "On that note…" the Duplicate cringed and left quickly.

An hour or so, some thumping sounds, a moan or two, or ten, and an obnoxiously loud scream followed by a barking sound later, the Doctor and Donna decided they'd come downstairs for once. Sylvia, Wilf and the Duplicate were sitting around the kitchen table with tea and biscuits. They looked up when Donna and the Doctor came in, snorting as they tried to act nonchalant, and then laughing when the two blushed a deep red after the Duplicate asked if they had a good nap.

"Have you picked a name?" Donna asked after she smacked her brother's shoulder.

"I have," he said nothing more. "It took a little bit of looking."

"Well?" the Doctor asked.

"Well what?"

"What is it? What did you choose?"

The Duplicate stood up, walked over to the Doctor and stuck out his hand. "Hello," he said. "My name is Dominieck Geoffrey Noble".


End file.
